Profits lift for Yorkshire-based Fintel as firm continues investment into AI
Huddersfield-based Fintel saw its profits lift in the first half of the year as the company said it was continuing to invest in AI solutions.
The Yorkshire firm, which provides software and services to the financial services sector, posted pre-tax profits of £5m for the six months ended June 30, up from £3.2m in the same period a year prior.
Group revenue also lifted from £36.7m to £38.6m, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose from £10.6m to £12.4m.
It came in a period which saw Fintel launch its AI-enabled compliance and oversight platform, which it said was designed to create “new opportunities to improve regulatory efficiency and oversight”.
Speaking on the results, Matt Timmins, CEO of Fintel, said: “Fintel delivered a strong first half performance, with organic growth across our core businesses, continued expansion of recurring revenues and a 16.6 per cent increase in EBITDA from continuing operations.
“The resulting incremental margin of over 90 per cent demonstrates the strength of our operating model, operational gearing and the benefits of recent acquisitions being integrated across the group.
Fintel added that during the period, it had also continued investment in workflow technology, AI and data-driven solutions.
In January, Fintel announced that it had acquired Pearson Ham Group’s market pricing business for around £11m.
The company said that following the acquisition, its focus had “increasingly shifted towards simplification, operational efficiency and aligning the portfolio more closely to the group's core strategic priorities”.
As part of the simplification, April saw Fintel complete the disposals of both Gateway Surveying Services and APS Legal & Associates.
The firm said the move would allow management to “focus resources on activities that are more closely aligned to Fintel's long-term growth strategy”.
It added: “These actions represent a continuation of the group's disciplined approach to creating a more focused, scalable and higher-quality earnings base.”
The company is aiming to revert focus to its core software and data and services divisions.
January also saw Fintel acquire Market Pricing Holdings Limited, a UK-based specialist provider of UK insurance pricing data and market intelligence.
During the period, Fintel advanced £0.7m in additional funding to support the growth of its Plannr subsidiary. Fintel said that as it owns 49 per cent of the business, it had recorded our proportional share of its operating loss of £0.4m, reflecting “ongoing investment in the product and accelerating the roll out to new customers”.